SOUTH BEND, Ind. – It was one of the most entertaining and thrilling Notre Dame men’s basketball games and it could only have come in March. The Fighting Irish (14-17, 8-12) outlasted the California Golden Bears (13-18, 6-14) in not one, not two, not three but four overtimes, taking it 112-10.
The leading scorer of the ACC, Markus Burton, was one of the many heroes this evening. The sophomore guard dropped a career high 43 points. Twenty-one of his points came in the four overtime periods where he was 6-9 from the field, 4-4 from beyond the arc and 5-6 from the stripe.
Burton’s 43 points were the most by an Irish player in an ACC game. They were also the most points scored by an ND player since Adrian Dantley recorded 49 against Air Force on Feb. 10, 1975. It’s also the most points scored by any ACC player in any game this season.
Hero number two, Matt Allocco. The graduate guard battling through a right-wrist injury tied his season high of 24 points. Allocco stepped up in the fourth OT after Burton fouled out, dropping 10 points including an insanely clutch go-ahead three with 15 seconds left.
vibes on max #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/rHym3HRg63
— Notre Dame Men's Basketball (@NDmbb) March 9, 2025
Lost in the craziness of the day was the fact that it was Senior Day. The only four-year player on the team J.R. Konieczny certainly won’t forget this one. He recorded 13 points and a season high eight boards.
It was a complete team game that featured moments from so many players. Nikita Konstantynovskyi reeled in 17 rebounds, the most since Paul Atkinson grabbed 17 vs. Syracuse on Feb. 23, 2022. Julian Roper II recorded seven points and a season high eight rebounds. Tae Davis netted 12 points before fouling out in the second half.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Notre Dame boasted a 37-33 halftime lead primarily thanks to Markus Burton who had 18 points at this point on 7-11 shooting.
Tae Davis got to the basket early in the second half, recording six points to push his total to double-digits by 17:17. However, just as soon as Davis was finding his way offensively, he picked up his fourth foul at 12:14 and had to go to the bench with the Irish up 48-43.
When the Irish lead shrunk to just one point due to a three-minute scoring drought, Burton found Allocco for a big three. That possession was followed by a Konieczny driving floater to make it 53-47 with just under nine minutes remaining.
Minutes later, Konieczny followed that up with back-to-back buckets to delight the crowd and keep the offense churning; however, the Bears kept a hot hand, recording a 6-8 shooting stretch to tie the game at 63-all with 3:27 left.
Enter Konieczny again with a pump fake, step up and score from the midrange to make it 65-63. Later, Burton drove and was sent to the line where he converted 1-2 for the two-point lead, 67-65. Cal’s Jeremiah Wilkinson did the same, drove, was fouled and converted 1-2 from the line. A Burton free-throw was then exchanged for two Cal free throws and we were headed to overtime.
Burton, Konieczny and Allocco combined for the team’s 11 points in OT1. Burton, who didn’t record a made field goal in the second half, was on an absolute heater in the overtime periods. The first of many clutch shots arrived with 36 seconds left when he drained a three for the 79-79 tie.
In OT2, a Burton trey gave the Irish a six-point lead up 88-82 with 1:38 left. Yet, the rollercoaster that was this game saw the Bears climb back to tie it with 29 seconds left. Notre Dame had a chance for the win as Cole Certa attempted a corner three, but the luck of the Irish wasn’t there at that moment.
In OT3, Burton hit three-pointers at 3:48 and 2:06. Later an Allocco layup made it 97-95 with 11 seconds left, but Jeremiah Wilkinson countered with a driving layup with five seconds left. Notre Dame got the ball down quickly and had another shot at the buzzer for the win courtesy of an Allocco pull-up jumper outside the paint, but no dice.
OT4 was shades of Las Vegas Allocco who caught fire vs Rutgers. The Ohio native refused to lose, totaling 10 points, including clutch threes at 1:57 and with 15 seconds left. Cole Certa and Garrett Sundra iced the game from the free-throw line.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame will depart for the ACC Tournament in Charlotte tomorrow night. The Fighting Irish will be the No. 12 seed and play No. 13 seed Pitt on Tuesday, March 11, at 2 p.m. ET.
– ND –